


On the Ethics of Force Coercion

by pomegrenadier



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Consent Issues, Essays, Gen, In-Universe Document, Jedi Critical, Jedi Mind Tricks (Star Wars), Mind Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29726757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pomegrenadier/pseuds/pomegrenadier
Summary: Newly-promoted Jedi Councilor Aionar has some unusual ideas that are certain to win them many friends among their colleagues and not cause any controversy at all.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	On the Ethics of Force Coercion

**Author's Note:**

> References some canon stuff outside the scope of the Consular storyline, but still, y'know, canon. Chalk that up to Aio experiencing similar things at one point or another. Also I find it very telling that we don't really ... talk to mind trick victims, after the fact. They're just obstacles to our intrepid protagonists, and once they've been overcome, well, who cares? So I've extrapolated based on how I personally would feel if some asshole space wizard went and scrambled my brain because I told them no, you can't go in the Employees Only area. :-/

Consider, if you will, our use of the term "weak-minded" to refer to those susceptible to Force coercion—colloquially, Jedi mind tricks.

The term itself is ill-defined at best. What constitutes "weakness," exactly? I would argue that there is no single quality that the "weak-minded" have in common save for that very susceptibility—just as there is no single quality possessed by all "strong-minded" people save for their resistance.

Thus, "strong" and "weak" are simply labels applied after the fact. If you fail to resist, you are weak. If you successfully resist, you are strong.

But is this not a deeply dehumanizing way of looking at fellow sapient beings? It allows us to change them, alter their thoughts and priorities, without their consent, and we take their inability to fight back as proof that they deserved it. Had they been "stronger," in will or in character, surely they wouldn't have been so affected.

This, Masters, is the rhetoric of corruption. Valuing life, valuing freedom, only as a function of strength—deeming some people less worthy of respect than others purely because they cannot defend themselves against you—this runs counter to every noble ideal of the Jedi Order. Use—or indeed, abuse—of power is justified by getting away with it.

Might makes right.

I should not need to explain whose philosophy this sounds like.

And it must be emphasized that this is not a matter of dark and light—this is not a corruption of the Force, to be purified through contemplation and serenity. One can bend minds without malice or fear, in perfect tranquility, with the best of intentions—but that does not mean no harm is done.

How many of us have been subjected to a mind trick? Convenient, that those capable of wielding such power are largely resistant to it. It allows us to be cavalier in its use, with little thought to the aftermath for the victim.

Imagine a security guard mind-tricked into standing aside or outright helping a Jedi reach their goal. What are the consequences for that guard? On a practical level, they could lose their livelihood—or worse, depending on their employer. Given the organizations and factions that Jedi are often deployed against, loss of employment is outright merciful, but for an ordinary person even that can be catastrophic. Even in the Republic, there are few if any legal protections in place against professional retaliation for being subjected to Force coercion.

On a psychological level ... I have witnessed hardened criminals dissolve into gibbering terror at the mere suggestion that I might be capable of influencing their minds. "Please, I'll do anything, just stay out of my head" is a common refrain. I have witnessed great minds—some of the "strongest" I know, themselves resistant to mind tricks—recoil in revulsion when I used the technique during the course of my duties.

I have spoken to victims of mind tricks, and while the compulsion to obey may fade, the helplessness, fear, and sense of violation linger on. There are those who shrug it off, as there are those who can shrug off pain and hardship—but there are others, many others, for whom it is deeply traumatic.

To be so horrifically, intimately aware that you are vulnerable, to know that your very thoughts are subject to the whims of those with greater power than yourself ... Is it any wonder that laypeople often draw so little distinction between Jedi and Sith, when this is the existential terror we inspire with what we consider to be the kinder option?

Is it truly worse to threaten physical pain than to turn a living, thinking person into your obedient puppet?

We belabor the significance of the lightsaber, debate the ethical dilemma of when and how it is acceptable to take a life or permanently maim someone. We are not pacifists; we are peacekeepers. Violence is a tool. We know this. But to mind trick someone is to commit an act of violence, just as brandishing a lightsaber is, and denying that it is violent allows the harm we cause to go unacknowledged.

I do not believe that the mind trick is intrinsically evil, or that no Jedi should ever use it under any circumstances. I do, however, believe that it must be recognized for what it is, and wielded with commensurate care.

We must take responsibility for our actions.


End file.
